no goodbyes
by Val-Creative
Summary: Mike visits El living out in Tennessee, and they share their first mutual I love you. Even a tornado can't bring down the mood.


**.**

**.**

Dark, thundering clouds gather in Tennessee skies.

Mike has only visited El several times in her new house, in the past year. He would like her to move back to Indiana, and to Hawkins, but this is nice too — them snuggling up in the back of a flatbed truck cushioned with a blanket and pillows and chocolatey snacks. The local high school football team play down the dusty, yellowing road. Music blasting in their direction.

Raindrops scatter to Mike's acid-wash jeans and indigo sweater, as well as El's blue and white asymmetrical-patterned windbreaker. But no downpour. El rolls up the bottom cuffs to her purple, high-waisted jeans, and curls her fingers into Mike's.

When Mike kisses her, slow and sure, the white, stringed bulb-lights flicker above them.

_It's not her._

Distant screams. The skies blacken further and rotate with menacing clouds, and Mike knows exactly what that means. Tornado sirens blare. He grabs onto El's hand, telling her to run, following the high schoolers fleeing for the nearest storm-shelter.

Mike shoves El ahead, as soon as they're a foot away from the entrance, watching her purple and flamengo-pink striped sweater and skinny, blue stripes flap against high winds. El's orange sneakers with domino checkers sinking in the muddy grass. He gazes over his shoulder, horrified, as other distressed teenagers and adults head for their cars. Mike hopes they make it.

El hunches down against a grey, concrete wall, looking up, right beside a crying woman with an infant.

"You okay?" Mike asks, stroking El's cheek. She nods, afraid but toughing it out. So is Mike.

The tornado roars above them, hitting fast, rattling the storm-shelter's doors.

Yelling and loud, panicking voices ring out. Mike shouts for El, as she heads back for the shelter's doors. For all he knows, they'll break apart with the force of the winds. Suck them all out into the tornado. El locks her arm through the door-handles, kneeling up on the steps, planting a hand and foot to the wall.

She concentrates, gritting her teeth and hollering, using her powers to reinforce the creaking, straining doors. Mike's eyes widen.

It's a literal force of nature against _his girlfriend_, and she's winning.

"El—"

"I can do this, Mike!" El shouts back, trembling from the effort. Her brown hair stringy and heavy with perspiration. Her little muscles bulging. He doesn't doubt this. He's never gonna doubt her ever again.

"El," Mike repeats, slow and sure, getting her attention. "I love you."

She smiles, her nose gushing blood.

"I love you… …"

It seems like hours, when it's really another thirty seconds. El's strength and telekinesis barricading them all before the winds die out. Mike doesn't hear the sirens anymore. Just his own heart pounding erratically and loudly against his eardrums.

El lets go, collapsing.

Bright sunlight spills in from the opened, broken storm-shelter doors.

Mike turns her over in his arms, glimpsing dark veins crawling under her flesh, pulsing, fading out. El's irises completely blacked-out. Red, red blood tacking under her she's… she's gotta be the most beautiful thing Mike has ever seen in his life.

He helps her out, wrapping an arm to El's waist, surveying the damage.

Everything's _gone_ but the muddy grass.

But she's here. With him. That's the most important thing.

**.**

**.**

* * *

_Stranger Things isn't mine. Requested by badrepkids (AO3): "mileven and the prompt is their first mutual 'I love you'." I kind of put in this twist myself of using El's superpowers vs natural disasters because REALLY THAT'S AN INTERESTING TOPIC TO ME. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR FAVES ARE TRAPPED BY AN EARTHQUAKE OR TWISTER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? Especially if they got abilities? I can't get enough of this. I really hope you all like this too!  
_

_______________((Want a request for Stranger Things? I'm doing 100-5_00 word drabbles of any friendship or romantic ship + any prompt until I feel like quitting. Rules: you need to comment here and provide a friendship or romantic ship and prompt. Please do not ask for anything with Billy Hargrove. Thank you. The only requests I'll be looking at is if you ALSO commented about the fic you just read as well. It's only fair. You came to this fic to read it and me doing something for you later on is a sweet bonus!))______________


End file.
